Swahili · Kiswahili
Father's Heart Bible™ key-term glossary — anchored to the historic Swahili Scriptures · Script: Latin
For the reviewer
These are the proposed renderings of FHB's key terms. The heart of the review: wherever English says our Father, the rendering must feel like a beloved child addressing their own father — warm, reverent, natural to your language's Bible — and never the distant generic word for "God." Mark anything that reads wrong, stiff, or irreverent. Tip: your browser's translate feature can back-translate this page as a second witness. Approvals or corrections go to Kevin White.
Register
Reverent contemporary Swahili in the register of the Swahili Union Version (Biblia, SUV 1952) — the most-trusted and liturgically dominant translation across East Africa — with the warmth of Neno: Biblia Takatifu where address to the Father is intimate. Dignified but personal, the tone in which a congregation prays 'Baba yetu'.
Quotation marks
Double quotation marks "…" for direct speech, matching the Swahili Union Version; nested speech uses single marks '…'.
Poetry lines
Poetic lines (Psalms, prophetic oracles, canticles) are set as separate indented lines, one poetic colon per line, with parallel cola aligned as in the SUV Zaburi layout.
| # | English term | Proposed rendering | Literal back-translation | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | our Heavenly Father | Baba yetu wa mbinguni | our Father of the heavens | Builds on the beloved 'Baba yetu' of the Lord's Prayer; 'wa mbinguni' is the SUV phrasing for heavenly — filial, never 'Mungu'. |
| 2 | our Father | Baba yetu | our Father | Primary filial divine name — the exact form East African believers pray daily ('Baba yetu uliye mbinguni'). NEVER revert to Mungu or BWANA. |
| 3 | the Father | Baba | the Father / Father | Definite filial name; unmodified 'Baba' is understood as the Father from context, as in SUV John/1 John. Not 'Mungu Baba' (theological label), which cools the intimacy. |
| 4 | Heavenly Father | Baba wa mbinguni | Father of heaven / heavenly Father | Same filial family as 'Baba yetu wa mbinguni' minus the possessive, for generic/vocative use. |
| 5 | Abba, Father | Aba, Baba | Abba, Father | Retains the Aramaic 'Aba' with the Swahili gloss 'Baba', exactly as SUV renders Rom 8:15 / Gal 4:6 — the child's cry preserved. |
| 6 | God | Mungu | God | REVERSION TOKEN — the generic deity word. Non-filial contrast term; use only where English keeps 'God' as God-as-God, never for 'our Father'. |
| 7 | the LORD | BWANA | the LORD (covenant name, small caps) | REVERSION TOKEN — SUV renders YHWH as BWANA in caps. Distinct from 'Bwana' (Lord/Jesus). Use only for the covenant name; never as a substitute for 'our Father'. |
| 8 | the Holy Spirit | Roho Mtakatifu | the Holy Spirit / Spirit Holy | Standard SUV term, universally recognized. |
| 9 | the Spirit of our Father | Roho wa Baba yetu | the Spirit of our Father | Relational genitive ('of our Father'), not identity — keeps the filial vision without collapsing into 'Roho wa Mungu'. |
| 10 | the Son of Man | Mwana wa Adamu | the Son of Man / Son of Adam | Fixed SUV Christological title for Jesus' self-designation. |
| 11 | the Son | Mwana | the Son | Unmodified 'Mwana' for the Son (Jesus) in Father–Son passages, mirroring SUV. |
| 12 | the Son of God | Mwana wa Mungu | the Son of God | Traditional confessional title; retains 'Mungu' here because it is the fixed Christological formula, not a Father-address — reviewer to confirm vs 'Mwana wa Baba'. |
| 13 | one and only Son | Mwana wa pekee | the one and only / only-begotten Son | SUV John 3:16 'Mwanawe pekee'; 'wa pekee' carries the 'one and only' uniqueness. |
| 14 | the kingdom of our Father | ufalme wa Baba yetu | the kingdom of our Father | Anchored to Swahili Union Version (Mt 26:29) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "Ufalme wa Baba yetu". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 15 | Jesus | Yesu | Jesus | Standard Swahili form. |
| 16 | Christ | Kristo | Christ | Standard SUV form. |
| 17 | Messiah | Masihi | Messiah | Transliteration used in SUV for the Hebrew title, distinct from the Greek-derived 'Kristo'. |
| 18 | covenant | agano | covenant | Standard SUV term (e.g. Agano la Kale / Agano Jipya). |
| 19 | steadfast love | upendo thabiti | firm / steadfast love | Renders hesed as loyal covenant love; 'thabiti' = unwavering. Reviewer to confirm vs the SUV 'fadhili' (kindness) tradition. |
| 20 | compassion | huruma | compassion / tender mercy | SUV word for gut-level mercy (racham / splanchnizomai), warmer than 'rehema'. |
| 21 | righteousness | haki | righteousness / justice | Standard SUV term covering both righteousness and justice. |
| 22 | eternal life | uzima wa milele | life of forever / eternal life | SUV John 3:16 phrasing. |
| 23 | born again | kuzaliwa upya | to be born anew / born again | Contemporary rendering of John 3:3,7; SUV reads 'kuzaliwa mara ya pili' (born a second time) — reviewer to choose which the community's ear prefers. |
Machine conformance stems (every filial rendering must contain one): Baba
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Your review goes directly to Kevin White. Corrections can be written in Swahili or English.